Experience the Boston Tea Party!

This summer brought a lot of changes to our usual travel adventures-10 is a hard age for traveling and keeping  everyone happy! We decided now was a perfect time to bring history to life and take a trip to New England, our first stop-Boston, Massachusetts. I was really excited about Massachusetts in general because there is so much to see and do from Plymouth Rock to exploring the city. If you only have a short amount of time to explore I would highly recommend the Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum. It is an interactive floating museum that does a great job recreating the Boston Tea Party and keeping everyone engaged.  Upon entering the museum you are escorted to "town hall" to learn about the events leading up to the revolution. Everyone receives a character card and the employees do such a great job making it feel like you have been taken back in time.

After a short town hall meeting it is time to board the ship! This was by far one of my daughters favorite parts of the museum because you get to partake in throwing "tea" overboard. I really enjoyed that the characters from the beginning led you through the ship and made you feel immersed in their lives and experiences. 

After participating on the ship you are led to an amazing interactive display that tells the events after the tea party. The holographic characters come to life right before your lives and tell their stories on how the events are changing the world rapidly. Looking around the room everyone was engaged and eager to see what happened to the characters as we progressed through the museum.

The absolute highlight for me was being able to see the last known surviving tea chest from the Boston Tea Party and a vial of tea (currently on loan for 10 years from the Old North Foundation of Boston). Both are displayed in the museum for all to see as you progress through each room-I do not want to spoil anything but the history of the tea chest is one you do not want to miss!  Our children learned so much on the tour and I loved that it was presented in an interactive format that they will remember for years to come!

As an added bonus when the tour is over you can head upstairs to the tea room to purchase lunch or snack. I highly recommend a visit to Abigail's Tea Room to  try five of the tea blends that were thrown overboard during the Boston Tea Party. There are two options for the tea sampling one of which comes with the limited edition ceramic mug shown below. The tea room also serves delicious scones and sandwiches along with other great snacks.

Tickets can be purchased for the museum both in person at the street box office in front of the museum or online (online pricing does provide a discount).  I would recommend visiting the museum early in the day as it is a very popular attraction that has received many awards including the Best Historical Experience and the #1 Best Patriotic Attraction. As always if you have any questions or would like travel tips do not hesitate to reach out!

*All thoughts and opinions of the museum are my own, I was provided one admission ticket in exchange for my honest and fair review*

Harry Potter at Universal Studios

Our next stop is Universal Studios for our Harry Potter fan. She was so excited to find her special wand and do all things magical. Our first stop was Diagon Alley.

I was so impressed with how realistic the entire thing was-the shops, the people, even the brick. My daughter was on cloud nine and couldn't believe she was in Diagon Alley!

We had so much fun purchasing a new wand and trying out all the spells. The best part was that each magical spot had a witch or wizard ready to help to make sure your interactive wand would complete the trick.

Then it was time to board the Hogwararts express to go over to the school. I would say if you can only visit one park choose do Diagon Alley. It had so much more to offer and really was amazing. I cannot wait to go back with more time and explore the remainder of the park!

Welcome home-experimenting with peel and stick back splash

Our first room to redo is the kitchen. The entire house was painted beige when we moved in and was very dated so we knew that a little color and new appliances would really help bring the home to life.

The first step was picking a color. I went with a soft green paint that would be easy to clean and not very bright. We also changed everything to stainless steel appliances to make the kitchen pop. The biggest challenge was installing the new back splash.  I was very nervous about the overall appearance and quality of the "stickers".

Here are some tips:

1. Begin in a place that is not in the middle or in the open. We started behind the fridge which was wonderful since the first few pieces were crooked.

2. Once you stick it leave it-I tried removing several pieces and either ended up with ripped chunks of wall or with non sticky back splash.

3. Start in the corner-we had one spot that was very tricky and I tried to piece together other pieces making it look a bit crazy.


Overall I would say the room was a success and with the peel and stick I can easily change my mind! Now for the after photo: